If you’re a beginning guitarist, one of the key things you should work on, is building a decent sized repertoire by playing a few good songs well.

Previously we have shared some popular tunes we can play with simple chords. Today we will explore 6 easy songs that a beginning guitarist could tackle and easily add to their repertoire!

Seven Nation Army – The White Stripes

This rock song has a very catchy riff that’s pretty easy to play because it’s all on the 5th string. It’s great for beginning guitar players because it sounds great and sounds much harder than it actually is! One nice thing about Seven Nation Army is that it a pretty complete package, it contains a catchy riff, an easy solo and an great power chords in the Chorus.

Happy Birthday

It’s arguably the most well known song of all time, and only has 3 chords so it’s well worth learning. Don’t forget that the strumming starts on the word “Birth” and not on the word “Happy”. Another thing to take note is this song is in 3/4 time, not 4/4 so don’t make that mistake when you’re about to play this song in front of people!

Knocking on Heaven’s Door – Guns ’N Roses

This classic rock tune, which is a cover of Bob Dylan’s original, has about 4 chords and strums great. A great example of a power ballad, strive for rhythmic consistency and learn to accompany vocals in a meaningful way as you play this.

Shake It Off – Taylor Swift

It’s hard to believe, but Taylor Swift’s popular “Shake It Off” is only 3 chords! Am, C and G. However, I’ve added it in because it’s FAST. Make sure to loosen up your arm and wrist when you play this because you will want to not tire out while playing the multiple choruses. As you get better, you can make simple songs sound even better by adding muting to your strumming and more complicated strumming patterns.

Riptide – Vance Joy

Much like Shake it Off, Riptide has 3 chords, the same ones Am, C & G. However, the strumming pattern is markedly different so it’s good to have 2 songs that have different rhythmic patterns for the variety.

Lost Boy – Ruth B

I like using Ruth B’s Lost Boy when teaching because it introduces all the major basic chords and doesn’t really have much of a strumming pattern so you can do single strums and learn how to change chords much faster. There’s no pressure to change and also, no need for a capo!